Installed all new steering,ball joints and lower control arms. took it in for an alignment and there is no room left to add shims. on the right side back bolt i have 3/4" of shims already there and nut is flush with bolt. i need to add another 1/2" to all four bolts.this seems excessive on the shims, what would cause this? and what would be the proper fix, longer grade 8 bolts? could it be that easy?

They sell offset Cross shafts (the thing your are shimming out) that already have built in a certain ammount of offset, so you won't need as many shims. Should be able to get them through napa... surprised the alignment shop didn't suggest them.

Its a bit of work to install them though, involves removing the upper control arms.

I feel pretty confident the offset shafts will not fix it. It sounds as if the car may have been wrecked at one time. I would consider having the frame checked.
Mike

We had a similar problem problem with our Chevelle a few years ago. The alignment shop took all the shims out and still didn't have enough adjustment. The old timer, who has since retired, pulled the frame back into spec. I don't know if many know how to or can do this any more. Under normal 396 abuse, the frame rails tend to roll in towards the centre of the car. It cost a couple of hundred dollars but even with standard steering, I could drive down the highway with one finger when he was done. The offset shafts are the quick easy cure if you aren't going after the original look. A bent frame might need a lot more tweaking.

i cant rememberm but i thought the offset shafts were for the other way, to push the top ball joint out, but i guess you could install them the other way-but there is another problem if their that far off, unless you already have offset shafts, and someone has then in backwards-are there bolts on the ends of the shafts, or nut/stud?

the cross shafts have a large washer with a nut and don't seem to be offset. they are marked wheel side on the shaft and are installed correctly.what i don't understand is before the new parts were installed it was shimmed all the way out but had a proper alignment and now i need another 1/2" of shim. what would cause this? does anyone see using longer bolts causing any problems

:thumbsup:What you are about to read is fact not fiction:
To date code the guy that is typing this, My first new Chevy was a 280 H.P. 58 Impala. In 65 I bought a Willow green 4 speed small block full size, Chevy came out with the B.B. So I got a 66 -SS-396 Vell. Aztec Bronze 4 speed, Crashed it. Insurance said you will drive a full size car. Got a 66 Caprice 396 with a lot of toys. The front end was eating tires.
At Baker Chevrolet in Beaver, Pa. they put the 66, 396 on the frame rack, Tied both outside horns down and jacked up the crossmember.
The front crossmember in the early era was designed for the weight of a SMALL BLOCKS. The added weight of the big blocks was causing the front crossmember to SAG. Now Chevy has to redesign the front crossmember.
So G.M. keeps this quiet untill they get rid of all the frames that they have built. Some Chevelles and full size built in the early days, One good hard " Bottoming out " and you just bowed you front crossmember.
Remember the Auto makers do not build a good race car, Everything is built just good enough to keep it legal and get it over the curb.
Bob

He doesn't have the problem of the cross member sagging. That would cause him to need fewer shims.

You can use the offset cross shafts backwords (I am running them like that) to take the place of some amount of shims. I don't know that it will get you as much as a 1/2", though. You still may need to tweak the frame.

Tim.

In addition to frame sag, the geometry was totally bogus to begin with. zero caster is just plain stupid and positive camber is stuff that they got by with back in the day because the tires where skinny and had very tall sidewalls. Then the camber changed dramaticlly as the suspension compressed and if you have fitted modern low profile tires the tire needs to sit flat on the road that geometry kills the tire in nothing flat. It takes more than shims to fix the big picture